Research News

LaVigne named CEO of Launch NY

By JOHN DELLACONTRADA

Marnie LaVigne, who has guided UB’s economic development
efforts since 2005 — including helping UB and its partners
establish Buffalo’s life sciences sector — has been
named CEO of Launch NY.

Her appointment was announced jointly by Launch NY and UB.

Marnie LaVigne

LaVigne, associate vice president for economic development, will
end her tenure at UB and assume leadership of Launch NY in July.
One of the founders of Launch NY and a member of its board, LaVigne
will focus her efforts in the CEO role on repositioning the young
nonprofit organization to coordinate with evolving economic
development efforts that target entrepreneurship as a key to the
region’s economic future and job market.

Launch NY, which has received $8 million in public and
philanthropic funding, is a nonprofit venture development
organization. It works to identify, support and invest in
high-growth, high-impact companies and catalyze the entrepreneurial
culture in upstate New York. LaVigne succeeds Al Culliton, who
served as interim CEO for the organization after retiring as head
of the Erie County Industrial Development Agency.

“With the incredible momentum we’ve built in this
community through programs like the 43North business plan
competition, which is part of Launch NY, Buffalo stands to become
the hotbed for the most innovative new companies on a global
scale,” said Jordan Levy, partner of Softbank Capital and
board member of Launch NY. “Marnie is the right person at the
right time to make sure we have all the key ingredients to help
those companies hit the ground running.”

LaVigne’s expertise in business development,
entrepreneurship and the commercialization of university research
will strengthen the partnership between Launch NY and UB, building
upon each organization’s efforts to support the growth of the
region’s high-tech sectors.

“We have been pleased to play a pivotal role in the
creation of Launch NY and hosting it at our New York State Center
of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, where the
interaction with our faculty, co-located businesses and firms has
already supplied invaluable support in our entrepreneurial
efforts,” said Alexander N. Cartwright, UB vice president for
research and economic development “Given the crucial role of
moving university research from the lab to the marketplace, in
order to improve the quality of our lives, environment and economy,
we look forward to building on UB’s partnership with Launch
NY as we transform Buffalo into a hub of innovation and
entrepreneurship.”

LaVigne will lead Launch NY’s efforts to expand its
influence in Western New York and beyond. Launch NY’s
executive offices are in UB’s New York State Center of
Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, located on the
Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. It also has a field office in
Ithaca, and entrepreneurs-in-residence working independently in
Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Binghamton.

“We evaluated best practices in bringing a business idea
from concept to high-growth, and like never before, we now have a
community ready to engage fully in a collaborative effort that
accelerates new business ventures,” said David Colligan,
partner at Colligan Law LLP and Launch NY board chairman.
“Launch NY is eager for Marnie’s deep,
multidisciplinary experience to lead Launch NY as we seize this
moment.”

At UB, LaVigne played a major role in the university’s
efforts to grow the region’s life sciences sector through the
New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life
Sciences. In 2012, LaVigne was named associate vice president for
economic development. In this role, she led the Office of Economic
Development, which leveraged university resources and collaborated
with government, community and industry partners to spark
innovative business, workforce development and community
initiatives. In the past year alone, the efforts of LaVigne and her
team yielded more than a 60-to-1 return in economic impact and
hundreds of jobs through the work of UB’s Center for Advanced
Biomedical and Bioengineering Technology, one of Empire State
Development’s 15 NYSTAR programs across the state.

LaVigne participated in regional strategic planning in economic
development and helped UB leaders secure $50 million from the
Buffalo Billion initiative to establish the Genomic Medicine
Network. She also contributed to UB’s successful
participation in Start-Up NY, the state’s new tax-free zone
program, which recently announced that eight of the program’s
first 12 companies would be partnering with UB.

Before joining UB, LaVigne had 20 years of experience in the
private and public sectors, creating new products and startup
businesses involving innovative applications of technology in the
health care and life sciences sectors. She also served in executive
management roles in two initial public offerings (IPOs).

LaVigne regularly mentors both youth and adults, and launched a
career pathways program, iSciWNY, that has introduced thousands of
people to the rewards and opportunities in the high-tech industry.
More recently, she introduced StartOneNY to highlight the
region’s entrepreneurial career pathway.

She volunteers as an editorial board member for the journal
Disease Management and as a member of the board of directors for
Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, the Buffalo and Erie County
Workforce Investment Board, New York State Economic Development
Council, Western New York Venture Association and Insyte
Consulting.

LaVigne has a BS in neuroscience and a PhD in clinical
psychology from the University of Rochester.

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